I guess in life the good and bad always accompany each other. They are like travelers on the same train that always show up together, one my be hiding behind the other, but both are always there. The trick, I suppose, is to see through the bad to the good and to not let the good be tarnished by the bad. On Monday we had the bad creep in with the good. Our 20 week ultrasound was that morning. Brad came with me and we happily joked with the ultrasound tech about the "skeletor baby" look and the size of the baby's head. Part way through the ultrasound she asked us if we wanted to know the gender...we did, so she informed us that our little guy was definitely not shy and we would soon be the proud parents of another boy!!! She continued with the ultrasound measuring things and checking lengths and examining the heart and everything seemed to be going just fine until she stalled for a few minutes on the umbilical cord.
After finishing she turned the lights back on and explained to us that normally an umbilical cord has two arteries and one vein, but that our baby's umbilical cord only had one artery and one vein. She explained that generally this turns out fine and usually only requires additional ultrasounds and possibly non-stress tests, however, the "what about the times it doesn't turn out fine" was clearly hanging in the air. She excused herself to go get a specialist in this field. We waited.
I looked at Brad and the look on his face told me he was definitely remembering what he had learned about this in med school and that he was going to the "worst case scenario" place pretty fast. I asked him what he thought and he suggested we wait for the specialist. So we continued to wait. After a few minutes the ultrasound tech came back in telling us the specialist was busy with another patient but our normal doctor would talk to us about it.
My OB saw us quickly, asked how I was feeling, gave her congratulations about another baby boy and then asked if the ultrasound tech had mentioned the potential problem with the umbilical cord. She repeated most of what the tech had said adding in that in 90% of cases everything is completely fine, and at this point the only difference in my care will be monthly ultrasounds (otherwise this would have been my last ultrasound). We pushed her to talk a little more about the other 10% of cases. She briefly explained that complications to any of the organs were possibly especially the kidneys, that the risk of down's syndrome is higher, and the biggest concern is that the baby's growth slows down and/or stops all together. She put everything out there in a "we will cross that bridge if we get to it" kind of way, but did mention having to send me to the fetal care specialists and high risk pregnancy specialists if the ultrasounds revealed a trend in our little boy falling off his growth curve.
Brad and I left the appointment slightly dazed, happy about our little boy but scared about what the next 20 weeks will bring.
So back to my good/bad relationship. The good: we WILL be having another beautiful baby boy! The Good: I get to see him at every single appointment! The Good: As of right now everything indicates that he is perfectly healthy and is right on track. He is measuring perfectly (and was at the last appointment indicating he has been growing just fine so far). The Good: If, heaven forbid, there is something wrong with our little boy at least he will be born into a family that can give him the best possible care and will love him no matter what. Oh and no matter what, we have this little guy who is going to make a fantastic big brother!
